Chocolate raspberry layer cake

Today, let's step into the world of sweets in a more serious way.  I know no better way to do that than with chocolate cake.  I may have been a purist in the past; by that, I mean I never wanted to mix my chocolate desserts with fruit.  But lately, I'd been craving the combination of chocolate and raspberries.  This chocolate raspberry layer cake was my way of fixing that craving.

This 6-inch cake is a pretty straightforward one.  There are two layers of moist chocolate cake (that's prepared without even using the mixer), joined together with seedless raspberry jam and dark chocolate ganache.  I simplified the recipe I worked off of and the cake came together as I ran errands and went about my day.  

Dark chocolate ganache, seedless raspberry jam and fresh raspberries for the cake

The whole cake is lovingly covered with chocolate ganache and simply garnished with a handful of fresh raspberries on top.  This cake definitely satisfied my chocolate-raspberry craving (and we know that cravings must be addressed eventually).  It's not complicated at all but I have to say that I'm always a little amazed when a cake comes together and that I made it from scratch, as simple as it might be.

There's seedless raspberry jam with ganache in the center and top layer of the cake

And a cake is just what I wanted to post here today because it's the 3rd anniversary of this little bumbling blog!  It's funny because for the first blog anniversary, I made a chocolate-hazelnut cake; the next year, it was another chocolate-hazelnut concoction - and both involved meringue!  Noticing the pattern after the fact, I decided to take a break from hazelnuts this year.  But, of course...it still had to be chocolate!

I almost can't believe I'm still chugging along after three years.  I have a lot of fun making the food and treats, then putting these posts together to share and stow away here.  It still feels like a little food diary of sorts but the chance to interact a little, and to learn from others who love food as much as I do, has been a huge perk.  This little blog continues to motivate me to try new things in the kitchen and I love all the learning that naturally happens. 

Thank you for spending a few minutes here sometimes.  I wish I could sit down and eat a slice of cake with many of you.


I used this recipe from epicurious.com as the basis for this cake but I made a number of changes. First, I made a smaller 6-inch, instead of 9-inch, round cake.  Moderation, right?  I also tweaked down the amount of ganache for the cake but used a little bit more raspberry jam.  Depending on how generous you are with frosting this cake, you might still have some extra ganache on your hands. You could use it to pipe a garnish around the cake or you could save it for another use altogether.  I saved mine for chocolate fondue!  My family and I had recently gone to the chocolate restaurant, Max Brenner.  We had chocolate fondue there (among other decadent treats) and bought one of the small fondue pots so my extra ganache was used for our first at-home-fondue.

Back to the recipe...I also simplified the steps.  For instance, instead of adding jam on top of the first cake layer and then topping it with ganache, I did the reverse.  It's a lot easier to spread the looser jam on top of the ganache than the other way around.  And I found that by making a little border with the ganache at the edge, you could keep the jam a bit more contained.  It's tempting to load up on the raspberry jam to get more flavor but it can get messy when sliced so a little restraint is called for. 

I added jam on top of the first layer of ganache; it's easier to spread that way

Another layer of raspberry jam goes on top of the second layer of cake.  You'll obviously have to apply the jam first this time before the ganache goes over the whole cake.  I spread jam over the top, then placed dollops of ganache on top of the jam.  I gently spread the ganache around with the back of a spoon to cover the jam and keep it contained.  After that, use an offset spatula to finish and smooth out the whole thing.

I simply frosted the entire cake with thickened chocolate ganache (instead of doing a 2-step process involving a crumb coat)

And instead of following the rather complicated steps of chilling some of the ganache and leaving the rest loose enough to pour over the cake, and doing a two-step process of freezing a crumb coat and then pouring a second final layer of ganache over the cake (with the goal of getting a more professional finish on the final result), I kept things a lot simpler by just letting the ganache sit until thickened enough to spread all at once.  

The overall finish might be rustic but I'm happy with that kind of a look. 

To finish, add some fresh raspberries on top of the cake.  With the raspberries on top as a visual, we really know what we're dealing with now!

And inevitably, some powdered sugar gets dusted on top.  The cake is all done and ready to be tucked into the fridge until dessert time.  It was easy and fun to make and very good to eat.  It's not too sweet.  The chocolate cake layers are really moist, the ganache is full of beautiful dark chocolate flavor, and the raspberry jam adds both sweetness and tartness.

I think it made a nice little anniversary cake.


Recipe:

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake
Adapted from epicurious.com*

* The original recipe makes a two-layer 9-inch round cake.  I've also made several other changes to simplify the process so please refer to the original if you'd like to compare or do differently.

- A two-layer 6-inch round cake - 

For cake layers:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder  
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water (you could use coffee)
6 tablespoons buttermilk
6 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 large eggs (I lightly whisk an egg in a small bowl and pour out half)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For chocolate ganache and raspberry filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (61% cacao or less), finely chopped
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam, stirred to loosen, divided
1 6-ounce container fresh raspberries (organic, if possible)
Powdered sugar, for dusting

For cake layers:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease (or use baking spray) two 6-inch round cake pans, with 2-inch high sides.  Line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds and lightly grease the paper.  

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Whisk to combine and make a well in the center.  Whisk water, buttermilk, oil, and eggs together in a measuring cup or bowl to combine.  Pour wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk gently together until just incorporated.  Divide batter evenly among the two cake pans.  

Bake until toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, roughly 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely in pans on a cooling rack.

For ganache and raspberry topping:
Place chocolate and espresso powder (if using) in a heatproof bowl.  Heat cream and corn syrup together until it just comes to a boil.  Pour cream over the chocolate and let stand 1 minute.  Then begin whisking gently, starting in the center then outward, until incorporated.  Let mixture sit, stirring occasionally, until ganache thickens enough to spread.

Remove cooled cakes from the pans.  Set one cake layer (I laid it bottom-side up), on a serving plate or pedestal with pieces of parchment paper tucked under it for easy clean-up.  Spread a layer of ganache over the cake with an offset spatula.  Spread 2 tablespoons of the raspberry jam over the ganache.  Place second cake layer on top (I set it right-side up).  Spread the remaining 2 tablespoons of jam over the cake.  Place large dollops of ganache around on top and spread it carefully with the back of a spoon.  Once the jam is covered with ganache, use an offset spatula to smooth over the top and cover the sides of the cake with more ganache.  You may have some ganache leftover; you could use it to pipe some design around the cake or save it for another use.

Place fresh raspberries in concentric circles on top of the cake.  Dust with a bit of powdered sugar.

Store cake in the refrigerator but bring to room temperature before serving.